The world's biggest pop-up film festival comes to Taipei

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It is the height of the summer here in Taipei, and while we are sweating out the hot tropical days, we are preparing our 11th Future Shorts season. Talk about exciting!

This time we have 8 new short films on the programme. The films are selected by the Future Shorts HQ in London, and they surprise us every season! This time there seem to be quite a few music themed films on the menu, and maybe going for more weird, more impactful shorts. This I guess from the summaries, I can hardly wait to see the films with you as well! :)

The screening is on 2014 August 30, Saturday evening 18:00 at our usual 睡不著 Insomnia Cafe basement screening room. We’ve listed the event on Facebook and Google+. The ticket is 250NT, but we want you to have a good time with friends so we have a Buy 3 tickets, Get 1 free promotion. We also accept Bitcoin and give 10% discount for that.

The screening time and date is to-be-confirmed. The screening will likely be on a weekend near the end of August (we have some subtitles to prepare). Please stay in touch, and tell your friends about us! To stay in the loop you can sign up to our newsletter, or come back soon to visit this page :)

The films

No Joke – Boxed In （中譯：沒在開玩笑的！）

No Joke – Boxed In

Dir / 導演 : Maxim Kelly United Kingdom / 英國 – 2013 The music video shows the ultimate cure, in the form of old people dancing. Pop music and humor come together in photographer Maxim Kelly’s short film of the KolKata Laughing Society.

這部MV用老年人跳著舞蹈的方式展現了終極的治療。流行音樂和幽默有趣在Maxim Kelly 這部記錄加爾各達大笑社區的影片中完美結合。

Butter Lamp (中譯：酥油燈)

Butter Lamp

Dir / 導演 : Hu Wei 胡偉 France / 法國 – 2013 A young photographer and his assistant suggest to Tibetan nomads to take their picture. Against diverse and more or less exotic backgrounds, families appear to the photographer. Through these shots, the photographer will weave unique links with each of the various villagers.

Bonobo: Cirrus

Cirrus

Dir / 導演 : Cyriak United Kingdom / 英國 – 2013 The music video for Bonobo’s song, “Cirrus,” is a beautifully surreal video collage created by British animator Cyriak. It is certainly weird, using old footage of ordinary life to create complex machines and giant robots.

Misterio （中譯：謎）

Misterio

Dir / 導演 : Chema García Ibarra Spain / 西班牙 – 2013 They say that if you put your ear to the back of his neck, you can hear the Virgin speak. Mother, father and son. The trio is heading for a crisis in which understanding is only one way of not listening to each other.

Metube: August Sings Carmen “Habanera”

Metube

Dir / 導演 : Daniel Moshel Austria / 奧地利 – 2013 “MeTube”, an homage to thousands of ambitious YouTube users and video bloggers, gifted and less gifted self-promoters on the Internet, has attracted international attention. No less than George Bizet’s Habanera from „Carmen” has been reinterpreted for MeTube and enhanced with electronic sounds. Behind the cross-over of musical styles are director Daniel Moshel as well as opera and oratorio tenor August Schram.

Just Before Losing Everything

Just Before Losing Everything

Dir / 導演 : Xavier Legrand France / 法國 – 2013 A young boy pretends to go to school and hides under a small bridge. A teenager in tears waits at a bus stop. A woman picks them up and drives them to the parking lot of a supermarket.

Participated in Sydney Flickerfest Short Film Festival 2014, French Film Industry Awards 2014 – Best Short Film, Leeds International Festival 2013 – Louis Le Prince Prize for Best International Short Film

New season, new films. Future Shorts is back with the 2014 Spring season, and we are very happy to bring it to Taipei, to it’s 9th season! This time there are more films, altogether 7 shorts from 5 different countries.

We are setting up the time for the screening, will update the information here, when we have a time, or sign up to our mailing list, to get the announcement right into your mailbox! In the meantime, here is our 2014 Spring Season programme:

The Films

Tooty’s Wedding

Tooty’s Wedding

Dir: Frederic Casella United Kingdom – 2011
Peter has always been in love with the beautiful siren Tooty but he is married to the anti-siren Alison who thinks she can talk to dogs. So when Tooty flirts with Peter the night before her wedding, a desperate Peter decides they’re destined to be together.

Official Selection, 2012 Sundance International Film Festival Special Jury Mention, Bermuda International Film Festival 2012 Grand Prize – Best Comedy, Jury Prize – Best Short, Friars Comedy Club Film Festival 2011.

The Captain

Dir: Nash Edgerton Australia – 2013
An aeroplane pilot wakes up in the wreckage of a crash with a massive hangover and is confronted with the consequences of his actions.

Participated in Flickerfest International Short Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, Florida Film Festival, Sarasota Film Festival, Melbourne International Film Festival, Calgary Underground Film Festival.

Fungus

Dir: Charlotta Miller Sweden – 2011
Katrin sits apathetically in her dumpy apartment after being left by her boyfriend as an old lady whose husband just died is wreaking havoc outside. Touched by the old lady’s strong emotions, Katrin decides to face her old boyfriend. Participated in 2012 Sundance Film Festival.

The Big House

Dir: Musa Syeed Yemen – 2013
When a Yemeni boy finds a way into the empty mansion down the street, he lets himself and his imagination run wild in the big house. Participated in 2014 Sundance Film Festival, Los Angeles Film Festival, Seattle Film Festival, Dubai Film Festival.

Fear of Flying

Dir: Conor Finnegan Ireland – 2013
Dougal is a small bird with a fear of flying. At night his dreams are plagued with a recurring nightmare of falling towards earth and by day he walks wherever he needs to go rather than face this fear. When a harsh winter rolls around, Dougal must head South, but how?

Jonah

Dir: Kibwe Tavares United Kingdom – 2012
Zanzibarian beach boy Mbwana, hungry for the future, creates a myth that transforms his small town into a tourist hot spot, but when the reality is far from his dreams he sets out to destroy the town – or himself.

Participated in 2013 Sundance Film Festival, “Best Short Film” nominee for The British Independent Film Awards (BIFAS) in 2013. Made in partnership with Film4, BFI, Channel4, Shine Films.

The biggest problem we have found during the last 8 events we hosted is how to reliably let people know that we have a screening. Most of our communication was done through our Facebook Page, but over time that became more and more unreliable. Fewer people can see our posts, many never even get a notice that we have an event going on, and generally cannot get the same exposure as we used to. This is a general change in Facebook’s behaviour and troubles every other organizer as well.

On the other hand, not that many people come to our blog, and those who come would need to remember to check the page regularly to see if we have announced any new events?

Much better if we can go to our fans directly – if someone tells us that “yeah, I want to hear when you have the next screening!”, then we should be able to get in touch with them. For this, a newsletter is probably the best (even if not perfect) way.

So now we have a newsletter. Here’s the sign-up form below. We’ll send out emails only to keep people informed, and see whether it enables the creation a more satisfied community. :)

Since we have missed the Autumn season, it’s time to catch up with the regular screenings. We are preparing in Taipei for the 2013/14 Winter. It’s been a cold & wet winter here so far, will be looking forward to some cozy movie night with friends.

We are holding the event at the same place we’ve always been, Insomnia Cafe, it’s a small but very friendly location. Can seat about 40-45 people if we really try (and in the last few seasons we did have full house). Hope to have better subtitling, want to prepare the computer better, and hope to try a few different things to make the organization smoother.

The event is on February 22, Saturday, afternoon. The time is to-be-announced. Can see the event page on Facebook.

The Films

That I’m Falling?

That I’m Falling

Dir: Eduardo Williams
France – 2013
A young man in search of a seed emerges from the underground where he spends time with his friends. In their company he begins a long digestive journey.

Participated in Quinzaine des Réalisateurs 2013, Transcinema 2013, Belo Horizonte International Short Film Festival 2013, Riga International Short Film Festival 2ANNAS 2013, Festival International du Court Métrage de Lille 2013.

Out of Reach

Out of Reach

Dir: Jakub Stozek
Poland – 2011
Young and headstrong, sisters Karolina and Natalia are realistic about their home life. Their domineering father may not take care of them but they know any life with their mysteriously absent mother would surely be worse.
In this award winning film, director Jakub Stozek follows the girls as they finally seek out their mother and come to terms with surprising discoveries.

Rabbitland

Dir: Ana Nedeljkovic, Nikola Majdak
Serbia – 2012
The Brainless Rabbits live in Rabbitland – the “perfect” democracy. The Rabbits spend days voting on democratic elections, which take place in Rabbitland once a day, because Rabbitland is an ordered democracy.

Crystal Bear – Berlin International Film Festival, Special Jury Mention Sarajevo Film Festival.

The Date

The Date

Dir: Jenni Toivoniemi
Finland – 2012
Tino’s manhood is put to the test in front of two women when he has to host a date for Diablo, the family’s stud cat.

Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction – Sundance, Berlin 2013.

Buzkashi Boys

Buzkashi Boys

Dir: Sam French
Afghanistan – 2011
Buzkashi Boys tells the compelling coming of age story of two best friends, a charismatic street urchin and a defiant blacksmith’s son, who struggle to realize their dreams as they make their way to manhood in one of the most war-torn countries on Earth.

Drama: Best-of Category – LA Shorts Fest, Best International Short Film – Raindance Film Festival, Best Cinematography – UK Film Festival.

After almost 3 months of preparation, the next screening of Future Shorts Taipei is now ready for you! We have finished preparing the English and Chinese subtitles for all 6 films, and setting everything up for this week!

You can also RSVP on the Facebook event page. Entry is 200TWD, and films start at 8PM sharp, so come earlier to have a seat! There’s space for about 40 people.

Volume

I prefer to be surprised by the films just like you do, and films shorts pack a lot of punch indeed in their few minutes. I still had to watch everything beforehand to make sure it’s all in good working order for you to see and boy am I excited about them! I’m blown away by the quality of the selection in every season since our first one almost 2 years ago. It’s brilliant, exciting, inspiring, unsettling, thought provoking. Usually not for the faint of heart, and that just adds to the experience.

Now that everything is prepared, see you in a few days for an awesome screening. Bring your friends too, movies are better in company! :)

After the very successful Spring screening, we are super-excited to announce the Future Shorts Summer Season already! We hope to make it the best season ever! We have 6 new shorts films from 6 different countries around the world. Prepare to be blown away – I personally cannot wait to see them!

We are preparing the screening, and we don’t have a set time yet. Check back to this page to see later, we will announce it here, soon! In the meantime, check out the trailer and the films that are coming to Taipei, to a cinema near you.

The films

Boneshaker

Boneshaker

Director: Frances Bodomo
United States – 2012
An African family, lost in America, travels to a Louisiana church to find a cure for its problem child. Stars 9-year old Oscar nominated Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild). Official selection Sundance Festival 2013, originally funded from Kickstarter.

La Huida – The Runaway

The Runaway

Director: Victor Carrey
Spain – 2011
Chewing gum. A dog leash. An Australia shaped stain on the wall. A bent traffic light… Each of these elements has its own story, even though all of them together can create a new plot..

Winner at Chicago Film Festival and Hugo Gold Award winner. Winner of 77 awards and more than 200 selections.

導演: Victor Carrey

西班牙 – 2011

口香糖。一條狗鍊。牆上一個澳洲形狀的污漬。一個向下彎的紅綠燈……每一樣東西都有自己的故事，而所有的東西聚在一起則能產生一個新的情節…

<芝加哥國際電影節最佳影片> <雨果金獎得主>

榮獲77個獎項，參展超過200場影展。

The Pirate of Love

The Pirate of Love

Director: Sara Gunnarsdóttir
Iceland – 2013
The Pirate of Love is an animated documentary about an outsider musician, Daniel C. Official selection AFI Film Fest & New Directors/New Films 2013.

導演: Sara Gunnarsdóttir

冰島 – 2013

The Pirate of Love 是一部動畫紀錄片，關於一個流浪音樂家- Daniel C.

<2013AFI電影節參展電影 並贏得- 新導演 / 新電影獎>

The Hidden Smile

The Hidden Smile

Director: Ventura Durall
Spain – 2011
Following a 10-year-old kid who arrives at the Ethiopian capital after escaping from his home and his misfortunes to integrate into a street children group, The Hidden Smile constructs a realistic tale on the values that flourish in a society formed by children. Winner of Best Documentary at Abu Dhabi Film Festival and official Sundance selection 2012.

Irish Folk Furniture

Irish Folk Furniture

Director: Tony Donoghue
Ireland – 2012
In Ireland, old hand-painted furniture is often associated with hard times, with poverty, and with a time many would rather forget. In this animated documentary, 16 pieces of traditional folk furniture are repaired and returned home. Sundance 2013 winner for Best Animation short film.

導演：Tony Donoghue

愛爾蘭 – 2012

在愛爾蘭，舊的手繪家具往往讓人想到生活艱難與貧困的時代，那些你寧願忘記的日子。在這部動畫的紀錄片，16件民間傳統家具被修復好，回到了家。

<2013日舞影展最佳動畫短片得主>

Volume

Volume

Director: Mahalia Belo
United Kingdom – 2012
Sam lives in a place where everything is polished and secrets are cleaned up and kept. So when Georgina goes missing, everyone acts like nothing happened. But Sam can’t stop thinking about her, the enigma who lived next door, swimming daily in her pool. As Sam drifts back into his memories of Georgina, he comes to realise he may know more than he wants to remember. Winner of the British Independent Film Award for Best Short.

It’s been a while since our last screening, and the Future Shorts headquarters in England prepared the new season for all of us to enjoy. Welcome to our Spring Season – the 5th quarterly collection of short films in Taipei from around the world.

The films:

The Whistle

The Whistle

Director: Grzegorz Zariczny
Poland – 2012
Marcin, a lowest-leagues football referee who lives in a small town near Krakow, dreams of better times. At his mother’s urging, he decides to change his life and find himself a girlfriend and more satisfying job. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize Sundance 2013.

38 – 39°C

Director: Kangmin Kim
South Korea – 2011
A man enters an old bathhouse where, induced by the intense heat and steam, he relives a memory of his father, and their past relationship ignites. Selected film at ANNECY International Animated Film Festival 2012 and Florida Film Festival 2012.

The Chair

Director: Grainger David
United States – 2012
The Chair is the story of a mysterious outbreak of poisonous mold in a small town and one boy’s attempt to understand his mother’s death, his grandmother’s obsession with their discarded recliner, and the roots of this short-lived, strange, and inexplicable plague. Jury Award Winner Best Narrative Short at SXSW 2012.

Micky Bader

Director: Frida Kempff
Sweden – 2009
100 year old Micky has been a member of the local bathing club for almost half a decade. Every day, every season, she swims with her friends. From her story we gain a perspective on ourselves and our existence. Winner of the Jury Prize Cannes 2010.

Dogs Are Said To See Things

Director: Guto Parente
Brazil – 2012
An omen, a shred of time only. Suddenly the huge-bellied man jumps into the pool holding a glass of whiskey. Based on the short story by Moreira Campos. Jury Honorable Mention at AFI Fest 2012.